We recently had the pleasure of meeting Dick Snyder, editor of City Bites Magazine, at Fat Cat Wine Bar during Zoltan Szabo's Hungarian wine tasting. We quickly recognized that not only is Dick a really nice guy, he's also an expert source for what's going on in Toronto's wine and food scene. It's no wonder then, that Dick Snyder's bi-monthly radio spot with Ralph Benmergui on JAZZ.FM91 offers great insight into the wine and food scene. At 9:00am every second Thursday, Dick shares the scoop (visit www.jazz.fm for program scheduling). I tuned in last week and thoroughly enjoyed the segment. Dick suggested a few useful websites and newsletters to get wine and food fans 'in the know' and he graciously offered to provide listeners, if they emailed him, with a more thorough list to explore. We've got the exclusive extended list below, so enjoy and get connected!
Gourmet & Wine Events
Compiled by Dick Snyder, City Bites
dick@citybites.ca
Top 5 Events Sources
1. www.tonyaspler.com
• possibly the most complete
• free events, just scroll down from home page
• also includes updated monthly listings of wine and beverage events from the Ontario Imported Wine Spirits and Beer Association
• Tony has good hookups for visiting winemaker dinners
2. www.localwineevents.com
• Aka, the juice
• A U.S. site that you log into, enter your favourite cities, and receive a daily email on gourmet happenings in that city.
• Can pick Toronto, Alsace, Paris, etc….
• Focus on retail (in store), commercial events, educational, wine fests, some special dinners
3. www.Gremolata.com
• A gremolata is a sauce of parsley, garlic and lemon
• Free web and e-newsletter started a few years ago by Malcolm Jolley
• Being web and e-newsletter, goes into great depth (but not always great editing!), but often features the only media for visiting gourmet experts who don’t get mainstream play
• Weekly e-newsletter has news and events
4. City Bites.ca
• Web still in infancy, but paper magazine has all the cool stuff going on
• Get on our list for e-updates and events; just email info@citybites.ca
5. zoltanszabo.ca
• Transylvanian sommelier, he never sleeps; working for the best restaurants in town and also conducting wine tasting events
• Best-networked and friendliest guy in the industry
Restaurant and Wine Agent E-newsletters
• Anyone can sign on for free info, so try googling your favourite restaurant
• With wine agencies, this can be the only way you’ll ever hear about visiting winemakers, and the agencies often host free tastings
• Wine agents: Small Winemakers, Lifford, Churchill (Imbiber’s Report). Go to www.oiwsba.com to browse a huge list of importing agents.
• Restaurants: Fat Cat Bistro, George on Queen (with chef Lorenzo Loseto writing about his shopping forays into the markets and the Food Terminal; click under “food buzz”; incredibly candid and honest, such as his rant about how ethanol fuel, produced by corn, will increase the cost of food); the CVA at Crush – www.thecva.ca — John Szabo wine tastings and seminars. Thuet’s game dinners and other weird things — Thuet.ca.
Also worth checking out:
• Slow Food Canada: website is being rebuilt, but go to it and email them to get on their list. Lots of under the radar events, often involving Michael Statdlander and Jamie Kennedy, two of our best chefs who are big supporters. www.slowfood.ca
• Martiniboys.com: rather vapid text, but well plugged into opening restaurants and brand new scenes. Not very epicurean, rather breathless.
• LCBO: aka, the KGBO… a monopoly to reckon with, obviously will only list their own events, but still worthwhile for wine auctions and special dinners. Free e-newsletter.
• Farmersmarketsontario.com — links to farmers markets around Ontario.
• www.iyellowwineclub.com — new blog by young enthusiastic wine fans. Lots of wine events.
• www.chefdb.com — comprehensive list of restaurant personnel and new restaurants; chef movements, etc.
What a great list! Especially www.iyellowineclub.com ;) Be sure to pick up the annual Wine Issue of City Bites Magazine coming in April/May 07. As said on their website, City Bites is the magazine to turn to for inside information on the best restaurants, top chefs, latest food and eating trends, and everything that makes Toronto such a gourmet delight. For a list of nearest pick-up locations or to explore archived City Bites issues, please visit CityBites.ca. To contact Dick Snyder please email: dick@citybites.ca
Have any of your own suggested links? Please shoot us an email to iyellowwineclub@gmail.com and we'll add them to our Wine Links Section.
Cheers,
Paxton & Ange
